But you desperately need to hear

Like many other people, I’m in some writing support groups on Facebook. You know the ones — people go to have their writing edited, their back patted, and to whine when they don’t get the results they expect from their writing. While these are a nice exercise in mutual admiration, very rarely do they provide any substantial help.

We all want to be known as nice people — I’m no exception. I’ve offered some advice and provided some basic editing/beta reading support for people. Rarely will I ever say what I really, truly think…

“Oooooff.”

That’s really the only way to describe what December was like — in fact what most of 2020 was like!

If you’re like me, you are anxiously awaiting your turn to get a COVID-19 vaccination and hopefully start to return to some kind of new normal in your life.

You see those words above? Those were the last sentences I wrote on Medium for three months. I just stopped writing. I was burnt out, exhausted, and struggling with my mental health.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like Medium, it wasn’t that I had nothing to say — in fact…

I grew up in a small town of 3,600 people, living just up the street from the town centre. It wasn’t much, a square of concrete that held a little lawn, a bunch of benches and a big fountain that tempted us to jump in on hot days. Because we lived in the lee of Lake Huron, this wasn’t much of a temptation during the winter. …

There is a difference between asking challenging questions and giving into conspiracy theories. Black Panther’s Letitia Wright is finding this out the hard way after sharing a conspiracy theory video…

“Good evening, citizens of the world. I speak to you tonight not as the President of the United States, but as the spokesperson for these world leaders.”

The President paused while the cameras swept over the faces of the world leaders behind and beside her. The UN General Secretary sat at her right, while the leader of the European Union sat at her left. Beside them were the leaders of every major country around the world — along with many minor ones.

As the camera focused back on the President, she tucked a strand of her deep brown hair behind…

This is not the story you think it will be. The ending is not foretold, the journey has barely begun, and there will be many challenges along the way.

Let’s start with the unambiguous truth.

I am fat.

Morbidly Obese to be exact.

On my 6-foot tall frame, the 360lbs of weight I carry around with me aren’t as visible as you would expect. But they’re there.

I weighed myself on Monday — 366lbs of me stood on the scale and cringed. I was even heavier than I had expected.

But the story goes back before just this past Monday…

At the beginning of October, I wrote about the different platforms I’ve used for writing and what their benefits and drawbacks are. At the time, I was writing on three platforms: Medium, Vocal, and Grinfer. The last two are relatively new, so no worries if you don’t know them.

I’ve decided to focus my time on Medium — and here’s why you should too!

Just so we’re on the same page, I’ve shared my feedback with these sites as well in the hopes they will improve their user experience.

Greater Exposure

Medium is fantastic for new writers, especially talented ones who can…